The Sean 'Diddy' Combs story - from recording studio to criminal trial

TimesLIVE

02-07-2025

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, the hip-hop mogul who discovered the Notorious B.I.G. and ran one of the genre's most iconic record labels, was found guilty on Wednesday of prostitution-related offences but acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. This timeline outlines his rise and fall from music industry A-lister to (convicted felon/ vindicated criminal defendant).
Here is a timeline of his career and legal troubles:
1993 - Combs establishes his record label Bad Boy Records, bringing along rapper Christopher Wallace (the Notorious B.I.G.) from their former label.
1996 - Under the name 'Puff Daddy' Combs releases his first solo album, titled No Way Out, which later wins a Grammy Award for best rap album.
1999 - Combs pleads guilty in New York state court to harassment for attacking another rapper's manager and is sentenced to one day of anger management class. Several months later, Combs is charged with weapons offences for a shooting at a club in New York's Times Square but is acquitted at trial.
2001 - A Detroit radio host sues Combs for assault, claiming the rap mogul's associates roughed him up and destroyed an interview tape. Combs denies wrongdoing and is ultimately cleared by a jury.
2003 - A former business partner sues Combs for allegedly threatening him with a baseball bat. Combs denies the allegations, and the case is dismissed after an appeals court finds the statute of limitations had expired.
2008 - Combs privately settles a lawsuit by a man who claimed the mogul punched him outside a Hollywood nightclub.
2015 - Combs is arrested for aggravated assault after an argument with his son's football coach in Los Angeles. The charges are later dropped.
2017 - Combs's former personal chef sues the mogul for sexual harassment and retaliation. The case is settled for an undisclosed amount two years later.
November 16 2023 - Combs' former girlfriend Cassie Ventura sues Combs in New York federal court for rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. Combs and Ventura settle the case for $20m (R352,469,440m) a day later.
May 17 2024 - CNN releases footage purporting to show Combs violently assaulting Ventura at a hotel in Los Angeles on March 5 2016.
May 19 2024 - Combs posts an apology video for the Ventura incident, saying he is 'truly sorry' for his 'inexcusable' actions.
October 14 2024 - Combs is accused of assault in six new civil lawsuits filed by an attorney who said he was representing 120 people who accused Combs of abuse.
September 16 2024 - Combs is arrested in New York and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He pleads not guilty the following day, and a judge denies him bail.
April 4 2025 - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan file an expanded indictment charging Combs with five criminal counts. Combs pleads not guilty two weeks later.
May 5 2025 - Combs's trial begins with jury selection before US district judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court.
June 24 2025 - Prosecutors rest their case after six weeks of testimony. The defence calls no witnesses of its own, but shows jurors text messages between Combs and Ventura.
July 2 2025 - Combs found guilty of prostitution-related offences, acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking.